A God-Given Responsibility to Younger Generations
Yesterday was one of those perfect southern winter “warm spells” as the old folks said when I was a child. A bird’s sweet tweet greeted me the moment I stepped outside. The sky was a beautiful shade of blue. Pine needles, pine cones, and leaves lay beneath my feet. The temperature was at that just right spot when you think, “I’d love it if every day all year was exactly like this one.”
At the same time, not everything was perfect. My prayer list had some items of deep concern. I had some technical issues with Internet service that caused a little consternation. Responsibilities had kept me up late the night before. My body was exhausted. You know what I mean. The old negative adage that “there’s always something!” has some truth in it.
Being outside and breathing in the evidence that God is always at work is comforting. When Job complained to God about the tough things — super tough things — he was going through, God answered Job by reminding him of His power in the natural world. He asked Job convicting questions, such as:
Where were you when I laid the foundation of the earth?Â
Tell Me, if you have understanding, . . . Job 38:4
And . . .
Have you ever in your life commanded the morning,
And made the dawn know its place . . . ? Job 38:12
And . . .
Can you raise your voice to the clouds,
So that an abundance of water will cover you?
Can you send flashes of lightning, so that they may go
And say to you, “Here we are”? Job 38:34-35
None of us can say yes to those questions or to the many similar ones that God asked Job. Going outside reminds me that He has the whole world in His hands. It reminds me of Who God is and who I am.
One of our jobs as parents is to help our children hear the bird’s sweet tweet, see the shade of blue in the sky, feel the temperature at just the right spot, and notice the pine needles, pine cones, and leaves beneath our feet—in spite of the fact that “there’s always something.”
I recently “discovered” these verses from Psalm 71. It is a God-inspired purpose statement for mamas and grandmamas of any age.
O God, You have taught me from my youth,
And I still declare Your wondrous deeds.
And even when I am old and gray, O God, do not forsake me,
Until I declare Your strength to this generation,
Psalm 71:17-18